User:Jamie Bradshaw/sandbox/List of holders of the Great Offices of State

In the United Kingdom, the four most senior government positions (collectively known as the Great Offices of State) are (in order of traditional seniority): the Prime Minister, who runs the government; the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who manages the nations finances; the Foreign Secretary, who is responsible for the United Kingdom's foreign policy; and the Home Secretary, who has responsibilities including but not limited to: security, law and order, immigration and (until 2007) prisons. Although the specific titles and responsibilities of the positions have changed slightly since their formations, the offices have existed in unbroken succession since 1782 (when the Foreign Office and Home Office were created) and the position of Prime Minister dates back to 1721 (with the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer going back much further). There follows a list of the holders of these offices alongside the monarch who appointed them.

Lord High Treasurers (c. 1126 - 1216)
The office of Lord High Treasurer was a very ancient one and in it lies the origins of that of the Prime Minister.

Lord High Treasurers, Chancellors of the Exchequer and Secretaries of State (1216 - 1645)
During the reign of Henry III there exist the first evidence of the existence of a Chancellor of the Exchequer and of a Secretary of State (which would later evolve into both the Foreign and Home Secretariats).